The Washington, D.C. office of NMFS concerned with ac- 

 tivities under the FCMA is the Office of Resource Conserva- 

 tion and Management, which includes a Plan Review Division 

 and plan coordinators. The Plan Review Division, Office of 

 General Council, Regulations Division, and other appropriate 

 sections of the NMFS review draft management plans and as- 

 sociated draft regulations. The NMFS assists councils in 

 complying with provisions of the National Environmental Pol- 

 icy Act (NEPA) and implementing Council on Environmental 

 Quality (CEQ) regulations. The NMFS Office of Science and 

 Environment has oversight responsibility for the EIS process. 



Marine Mammal Protection Act 



Prior to the passage of the MMPA in 1972, marine mammal 

 protection and conservation were the responsibilities of 

 coastal states, such as Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, 

 etc., and/or international authorities, such as the Inter- 

 national Whaling Commission (IWC) , the North Pacific Fur Seal 

 Commission, and the International Commission on North Atlantic 

 Fisheries (ICNAF) . Management by some of these authorities, 

 particularly the international ones, was not very effective. 

 In the late 1960s this led to expressions of concern, by the 

 American public and the Congress, that certain species and 

 populations of marine mammals were in danger of extinction or 

 depletion as a result of human activities. The regulation 

 of commercial whaling by the IWC, the incidental take of por- 

 poise by the U.S. tuna purse seine fleet, and the clubbing of 

 "baby" harp seals in the North Atlantic were of particular 

 concern (see, e.g., H. R. Report No. 92-707 (1972), H. R. Re- 

 port 92-1488 (1972), and S. Rep. No. 92-863 (1972) ). 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act (P. L. 92-522, 21 Octo- 

 ber 1972) established a moratorium on the taking of marine 

 mammals in U.S. waters and/or the importation of marine mam- 

 mals and marine mammal products into the U.S. The Act pro- 

 vides a special exemption for the taking of marine mammals by 

 certain natives for subsistence, handicrafts, and clothing. 

 "Take" is defined in the Act as harassing, hunting, capturing, 

 or killing, or attempting to harass, hunt, capture or kill any 

 marine mammals . 



The Act provides for waiver of the moratorium and return 

 of management to the states. It also provides for issuing 

 permits to take marine mammals for purposes of public display, 

 scientific research, and incidentally during fishing opera- 

 tions. Under the Act, the Secretary of Commerce is responsible 



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